New Beginning
by Spidersting
Summary: Bulma and Vegeta fall in love on Earth, not knowing that a much greater destiny lies ahead for the both of them.


Chapter 1: Little White Lies

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of the characters. This is purely a nonprofit work of fan fiction.

Author's Note: This fic takes place immediately after Goku defeats Frieza on Planet Namek and disappears into space.

Bulma could hear cheering all around. Kami had just told her the good news on Planet Namek and she had passed it on to the rest of the Z senshi. Though part of her felt great joy at the tyrant's downfall, another part remembered that Yamcha was still dead. She lowered her head and sank to the ground.

Gohan walked over to Bulma and pulled on her sleeve to get her attention. She looked at him sadly. "Yes, Gohan?"

"Gee, Bulma, why do you look so sad? Frieza's gone. We're all saved!" Gohan smiled at her, trying to cheer her up.

A single tear ran down her cheek. "I guess I just miss Yamcha, Gohan. Frieza's death couldn't bring him back."

Gohan was about to try to comfort her, but suddenly a deep, rasping voice startled them both. "Stupid humans!" Vegeta taunted her from his seated perch against a tree. He quickly gained the attention of everyone present. "Not only are you weak and emotional but you are also a complete baka, woman!"

Gohan stepped forward to face Vegeta, hiding his fear behind an expression of determination. "You leave Bulma alone, Vegeta! She hasn't done anything to you!"

Vegeta scoffed, and bitterly replied, "You don't want to get me started, brat." The pureblooded Saiyan stood up and Gohan jumped back in fear, running to hide behind Bulma. Vegeta sneered at him. "Too bad you're half human, shrimp. Otherwise you might not be such a coward."

"Don't call him names, Vegeta. He'll grow up to be bigger than you someday!" Bulma snapped at him, taking a precautionary step back. "And we humans may be weaker than Saiyans, but we are not stupid! Unlike you barbaric idiots, we know better than to shun our feelings! We take care of our own. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that you killed your own mother!"

Vegeta shot forward at a blinding speed, halting with his nose a fraction of an inch from Bulma's. His brows narrowed dangerously. Bulma shrieked and jumped back in surprise. "You…" he hissed dangerously, grabbing the front of her shirt, "You know _nothing_ of my parents' death. Hold your tongue, wench!"

He threw her down at Gohan, who caught her before she could hit the ground. Gohan examined Bulma to make sure she was uninjured, and then turned back to Vegeta to tell him off. He opened his mouth but before he could speak, Vegeta put up a hand to silence him.

"One more thing, woman—if you humans possess such an extraordinary number of brain cells, then how is it possible that not even one of them recalled that your weak human mate can be revived using the Earth's Dragon Balls?" he snapped sarcastically.

After he had finished throwing his weight around and glaring daggers at Bulma for insulting him, Vegeta slowly turned away from the Z crew to stomp off into the forest.

"Wait!" Bulma cried, eyes widening. Vegeta froze in his tracks. "That's brilliant! Vegeta, you're a genius! Now that Piccolo and Kami are back, so are the Earth's Dragon Balls!" She jumped to her feet and started skipping around in joy. "Woohoo! Yamcha's coming home!" she sang.

Vegeta slowly turned his head to examine Bulma's lunacy, which he immediately deemed worrisome. He saw fit to get away from her annoying cheers and rolled his eyes, mentally cursing himself for bringing her happiness. He shrugged off the concern and sprinted at lightning speed into the forest.

Back in the forest clearing Bulma continued to dance around in glee, largely unaware of Vegeta's departure. "Come on guys! We need to go find those Dragon Balls! Let's get back to Capsule Corp so we can get started," she declared happily.

Gohan carried Bulma as they all flew off in the direction of Satan City.

…

A week after Frieza's defeat, the gang only had one more Dragon Ball to find until they would be able to bring Yamcha back. Bulma found that she had the time and energy to ponder upon other matters.

_I wonder whatever happened to his Royal Highness,_ she thought to herself as she examined a new invention of hers called the Psychotron. If only she could get it to work, she would be able to rest easy that night.

She reconnected a few wires and then realized that the mind readings of her simian subjects were even more off than before. "Damn it!" she cried, kicking the device. She cried out in pain and hopped around holding her throbbing foot. The monkeys went nuts in their cages, but the machine was perfectly fine.

"I'll get it working," she told herself out loud after the pain had ebbed. Her project did little to suppress her thoughts about the missing Saiyan. Soon enough she found herself unable to rid such thoughts from her mind. They distracted her from her work, so she backed away from the Psychotron and sighed.

Bulma looked up through a window towards the heavens and snorted, "You've made your point, Kami. He did save our lives on Namek and Yamcha's life by thinking up that Dragon Ball idea. He's a human bein… well… he's a person and I suppose he deserves a civilized place to live. I'll go find him… but only after we bring Yamcha back. Promise!"

Suddenly her cell phone rang. She put the receiver to her ear. "Yes, Gohan? You found it? Great! Bring it to my front yard. Good job, kiddo!" She dropped the phone and ran outside, looking up into the blue late-morning sky. She could hardly contain her thrill. With a fancy dinner to go to in a week, she could not dream of attending without a handsome escort. Such an action would be hazardous to her reputation.

Bulma finally spotted a bunch of rapidly growing black dots on the horizon. _It's them! Time to call upon Shenlong to bring my precious Yamcha back to me!_ She ran back inside to get the other Dragon Balls, emerging with one in each arm as the others arrived.

"Hiya, Bulma!" Krillin exclaimed, carrying the seventh and final Dragon Ball in his left arm as he and the others touched down to the ground.

She waved to him, dropping the two on the grass. She procured Gohan's help to bring out the other four, laying them all down on the lawn. "I'm so glad to see you guys, and I've really missed Yamcha. After today the gang will be complete again. Well… almost complete."

Krillin put the seventh Dragon Ball down on the grass amongst the others. "Shenron, I call upon you!" he cried. The Dragon Balls began to glow and the sky grew dark.

When the Dragon appeared, Bulma was the one to make the wish.

"Your wish is my command!" bellowed the giant beast, just before it disappeared. The Dragon Balls rose into the air and scattered in every direction. Yamcha fell out of an opening in mid-air and landed hard on the ground right where the Dragon Balls had been.

He sat up, looking around curiously. Then he spotted a pair of familiar blue eyes. "Bulma! It's you! I'm here! I'm back!" Yamcha proclaimed. The two embraced.

"I've missed you so much, Yamcha! Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're finally back! Thank you, Vegeta!" Bulma exclaimed enthusiastically, hopping up and down slightly as they held each other.

Yamcha pulled back out of the embrace. "Thank you... _Vegeta_?" he said, raising an eyebrow. He looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Why would you thank Vegeta of all people?"

"Because it was his idea to bring you back," Bulma replied. "We had forgotten that the Earth's Dragon Balls would return with Piccolo's revival."

"Aw, come off it, Bulma! You're a genius. You would've remembered it sooner or later," Yamcha joked, gently punching her shoulder.

Bulma chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You're so sweet. You always are." She leapt up into his arms again and hugged him tightly.

"Speaking of the devil," Yamcha continued, "where is Vegeta, anyway? I was worried sick about you guys with that maniac loose on Earth."

"Beats me. We haven't seen him in a week," Bulma replied, leading the group inside to celebrate Yamcha's return.

"It's just as well," Chi Chi chimed. "That monster tried to hurt my Goku. Hopefully we'll never see his ugly face again."

"Amen to that," Yamcha added.

"It's not his face that's ugly, Chichi. It's his attitude," Bulma countered, checking the food in the oven.

"Well, I suppose," Chichi halfheartedly agreed.

Bulma grinned to herself as she took the pizza out to cool on the counter away from the others. Absorbed in her own ponderings, she thought to herself, _He's actually pretty good looking if you ask me. Too bad he's such an asshole._

"What was that?" Yamcha replied, stopping in his tracks. Most of the gang turned to glance at Yamcha, but he and Gohan were staring at Bulma. It was then that Bulma realized she had murmured her thoughts aloud, but only Yamcha and Gohan had been close enough to overhear her self-absorbed mutterings.

"What? I didn't say anything!" Bulma stammered. Suddenly all eyes were on her.

Yamcha did not look pleased, whereas Gohan just looked confused. "You like Vegeta, Bulma?" the demi-Saiyan voiced in confusion. All the eyes on Bulma widened.

"What? I didn't say that!" Bulma snapped back, waving a spatula at the offending child. "Go outside and play or something, Gohan. The grown ups will bring out the food when it's all ready. Run along, now."

"But…"

"Now!" Bulma snapped, cutting the boy off. Gohan jumped in startlement and made a beeline for the door to the outside patio. Meanwhile, the young genius turned back to the counter and started cutting the pizza into wedge-shaped slices. She figured if she pretended like nothing had happened, then the others would turn their attention back to small talk.

It took awhile for the awkwardness to fade, but eventually everyone forgot about the weird conversation and celebrated until about nine that night. Chi Chi had taken Gohan home an hour ago, so only the adults remained. Bulma was still outside under the stars having girl-talk with Lunch and Mrs. Briefs. Soon enough though, she felt herself yawn. It had been a lovely evening, but now she was just about ready for sleep.

"Why don't you head in, hun? You look wiped out!" Mrs. Briefs said, placing a hand on Bulma's shoulder. Bulma only nodded and got up to go back inside. To her complete lack of surprise, she found the boys gathered around the wide-screen television in the living room ogling a women's exercise channel. She rolled her eyes.

"Wow, look at that one. I bet you could bounce a quarter off her ass," Yamcha commented in a low voice. Master Roshi and Krillin merely nodded. It appeared that no one had heard her come in since the sliding glass doors were open.

Bulma felt her blood boil instantly, so she tore out the plug from the wall. "Party's over boys. Time to go home," she announced, suppressing the urge to glare at Yamcha.

"Aw, come on, Bulma! The program was almost over anyway," Krillin whined.

"Don't care. Run along, Chrome Dome," she countered, turning to shuffle up the stairs.

Yamcha cut off her retreat. "What's the rush, babe? I was hoping you'd let me take you out to the Blazing Bandanas Club. Come on, the night's still young." He paused, noting her troubled demeanor. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Bulma lied. "I'm just tired. Maybe another night." She turned to walk around him, but he followed her up the stairs and stopped her before she got to her room.

"Alright, alright. Maybe I can find another way to make tonight special..." Yamcha purred suggestively. He kissed her deeply. Bulma groaned slightly. Sex was something she had sorely missed since he had been gone, but her eyes widened in anger when she remembered that his current appetite had not come from her. She quickly drew back and suppressed the urge to give him a dirty look.

"What's wrong? Is it the aftershave?" Yamcha asked, putting a hand to his chin.

"No, Yamcha," Bulma replied hesitantly. She knew he would dismiss her feelings, but she had to be honest with him. "It's just that… I know we've been going out for a long time, but we've had constant break-ups and partings. I want more than that. I need to know I can trust you to stick around when I need you. We're not teenagers anymore." She lowered her head, somehow fearful of what his reaction would be.

"Not this again…" he sighed. "I don't understand what you want from me. I fought to protect you. It's not my fault that I got…"

She put a finger to his lips. He had not understood, just as she expected, and she could not help feeling aggravated. She was too tired to launch herself into a long explanation tonight about how she was starting to doubt his commitment yet again. In her glee to revive him, she had again forgotten about the problems they had always had in the past.

It was like a form of selective amnesia that had reared its ugly head every few months to a year since they were both in their mid-teens.

She quickly kissed him on the cheek to keep him quiet. She did not want to deal with this tonight. "Tomorrow night," she said, placing a hand to his cheek. She then slowly backed up.

Before she could disappear behind her room door however, he winked at her with a smirk on his face. "I'll hold you to it. G'night, babe," he said, turning to leave.

Two seconds later in her bedroom, Bulma found herself in tears. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ she thought to herself with her back against the door. _What is it about him that makes me take him back each time he breaks my heart? I want the normal things like marriage and kids. I've told him that hundreds of times, yet he never gets serious. Why does he keep stringing me along like this? Why can't he love me, and only me?_

She dragged her feet across the floor and flopped down onto her bed, burying her face in a fluffy white pillow. _Maybe I need therapy…_ she thought, sighing. She was about to let loose the waterworks again when she suddenly popped her head up. "Hey, that's not a bad idea! If I can't get myself out of this cycle, then maybe a shrink can get me out of it!"

She sat up and scrambled over to the planner on her bedside table, jotting the idea down on her to-do list. Then she lay back on her bed and sighed, finally feeling she could relax a bit. Unfortunately another troublesome thought occurred to her. _But if I do manage to successfully break it off with him, I won't have an escort to that fancy dinner next week,_ she thought.

Her thoughts began to wonder to what she considered a far-fetched alternative: Vegeta. She had a hard time admitting it to herself, but she was far more attracted to the Saiyan than she had been to any human male she had ever met. She could not understand why. There was something mysterious about him. It made her think back to that one time on Namek when she caught a gaze into his deep, onyx eyes. A flicker of emotion seemed to pass through them, but it was gone in an instant.

All she knew about him was that he had killed billions of people and destroyed many worlds. He had also attempted to destroy Earth. While he had failed at the time, there was nothing stopping him from wreaking his vengeance now. With Goku gone in space the planet was defenseless, yet there it was still floating peacefully through the solar system. Where was Vegeta and why had he not threatened them at the very least?

She remembered a week ago in the forest clearing when she had stood up to Vegeta in Gohan's defense. The Saiyan had insulted her and scared her by grabbing her shirt, but he had not actually injured her. She wondered what would happen if she were to take this question of hers into the forest and ask it to the Prince himself. Would he kill her? Bulma was slightly fearful, but she resolved to take the chance. She could no longer bear the curiosity. Besides, her father was on a business trip for the next week. It was the perfect time for a little mischief with him gone.

…

The next morning, Bulma filled one of her pockets with a pack of supply capsules. She packed a gun in the other pocket as a precaution against wild beasts and bandits. Finally she set off on a hovercycle, heading back to the forest clearing where the dragon had deposited everyone a week previously. It turned out to be much farther than she remembered, as it took her three and a half hours to arrive.

She quickly glanced at her watch. It was noon. She had eight hours before she had to be back for her date with Yamcha. She encapsulated her hovercycle and glanced around. At first she had no idea where to start looking for Vegeta, so she just began walking in any random direction.

Five hours later Bulma was crawling miserably through the forest on hands and knees, panting like a dog on the verge of heatstroke. She expected to have found at least something by now, but there was no trace that anyone had been this way, neither human nor Saiyan. Pushing aside the thick green foliage, she grunted in frustration.

Once she reached a small clearing, she stopped and looked around. The patch was rather unexpected, as the forest had been incredibly dense up until then.

Bulma's stomach growled, reminding her that she had brought food capsules with her. She was about to take one out when her nose caught a whiff of something that could only be described as raw and putrid. She lost her appetite instantly as the pungent smell grew stronger. Something had to have died nearby—there was no way it could be anything else.

"Yuck! What is that?" Bulma exclaimed, waving a hand in front of her face to waft away the offensive odor.

Her curiosity won out, so she decided to follow the smell. True to her suspicion, a dead animal did appear shortly through the thicket. It was a very large dinosaur, its rotting innards exposed and spewed across the forest floor. Flies buzzed around the unfortunate creature's lifeless eyes.

Holding a bandana to her nose, Bulma neared the creature to try and assess the cause of its death. It looked like it had been attacked, partially eaten, and left to die in the wilderness. The situation was puzzling, given that the T-Rex topped the food chain in these parts. What could have attacked and eaten such a mighty beast? Leaning forward to examine it, she suddenly heard a menacing voice from behind her. "Get your own, puny human!"

Bulma jumped around and yelped in surprise. Vegeta had his right hand extended over his head. The palm of his hand was gathering energy to destroy what he thought was just a greedy little thief.

But the moment he beheld her face, a look of surprise flashed across his and the energy dissipated. "You?" Vegeta snapped, raising an eyebrow. He slowly lowered his hand and powered down, curious to find out why the blue-haired woman was here.

"What do you want, woman? And why are you trying to steal my food?" Vegeta hissed. When he said that, Bulma noticed what he had in his left hand—an enormous bloody rib, which could only belong to the T-Rex.

Bulma saw the blood on Vegeta's face and instantly felt herself gag. She looked back at the dead dinosaur, and then at Vegeta again. "Are you serious? You'd have to be either crazy or stupid to think I would _ever_ eat something like that!" she snapped, pointing accusingly behind her at the dead T-Rex.

Vegeta's eyes widened in shock at the bold insult delivered him by one weak and pathetic Earth woman. Bulma grinned in satisfaction at the Prince's shocked expression. She had not even gotten started yet. "You Saiyans are disgusting barbarians!" she screamed loud enough to make him wince.

To her displeasure though, the accusation only seemed to amuse the Saiyan once his ears recovered from the intolerable noise. He smirked wickedly at her, and tore off a huge hunk of bloody meat from the rib with his razor-sharp teeth. Bulma gulped, suppressing another gag reflex, and stepped back.

His actions reminded her of Goku's boyish antics back when they were kids. He had often eaten worms in front of her just to gross her out. Yamcha joined in later and ate grasshoppers to make her run away screaming. The memories gave Bulma the overwhelming urge to throttle Vegeta, but she realized that such an action would not benefit her health-wise.

"Answer my first question, wench," Vegeta commanded all of a sudden, startling her.

"Not before you answer mine!" Bulma retorted, glaring at him. Vegeta raised an eyebrow, so Bulma put her hands on her hips and looked smugly at him. "I want to know why you haven't destroyed my planet yet. I know you're planning to! Don't think you can get away with it either, you monster! Goku will come back. If he finds that his world has been destroyed, he'll hunt you down and _spank_ you in battle. Guaranteed!" she shrieked at him.

Vegeta ground his teeth at her shrill voice. "Kami, woman! It's too bad wenches like you don't come with a volume dial," he snapped back, rubbing his ears. When he was done, he glared at her. "So what was the question again?"

"_What are you planning?"_ Bulma yelled. Again, Vegeta winced.

"Enough! I will not have my eardrums abused in such an outrageous manner!" Vegeta shouted back at her. He had to admit he liked her spirit, but he could not tolerate her yelling at him. He decided it was time for him to split.

"Don't try to change the subject, monkey boy! And—Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Bulma snapped, brandishing a fist after him.

"Away from you, as I can no longer tolerate your idiotic presence," Vegeta snapped back over his shoulder before plodding off into the forest.

"Wait!" Bulma cried. She plodded after him and tripped over a log, faceplanting on the ground. Fortunately it was soft. "Mmph," she mumbled into the dirt. When she pushed herself up, Vegeta was standing over her with a quizzical look on his face.

"I seriously fail to comprehend how you humans have managed to survive on this planet," the Saiyan stated simply, tearing another bite out of the dinosaur rib. He chewed and swallowed, chucking the bare bone over his shoulder. Then he wiped his face with a filthy sleeve.

She knitted her brow together. "We survive because we're smart," she retorted. Vegeta stood silent for a minute and then burst into laughter. "Shut up, Vegeta!" she yelled at him as he mocked her. Embarrassed, she stood up and brushed herself off to regain her dignity. It did not work well.

Her command had only fueled his amusement further. Finally she gave up and just waited for him to finish laughing. When he eventually calmed down, she spoke up again. "Finished?"

"I suppose so."

"Good. Then follow me," Bulma said, about to grab his hand and drag him along. Then she remembered how filthy he was from living in the wilderness, and thought better of it. She withdrew her hand and walked past him.

"I beg your pardon?" Vegeta asked.

"You heard me. We're going to Capsule Corp," Bulma quickly replied, not turning around. Her intuition told her that he was not following. She stopped in her tracks, peering back at him with an expectant look on her face. "Well?"

"What in the hell is Capsule Corp?" Vegeta retorted, still hesitant.

Bulma turned back around to face him. "What do you _think_ it is? It's where I live. Now let's go already! I'm going to be late for my date with Yamcha as it is thanks to you. Shake a leg!"

Vegeta looked at her like she was crazy. "Do I look stupid? I'm not going anywhere with you!" he snapped.

Bulma rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Why? You scared?" She thought his eyes would bulge right out of their sockets when she said that. When he looked like he was about to make a vicious retort, she smirked. "Come on, Vegeta. I'm a small human female. What can I possibly do to you?"

"What the hell do you want to bring me home with you for?" Vegeta replied, stomping back over to the dead T-Rex. He casually tore another rib out of its flank, leaning against the carcass for comfort as he ate.

Bulma scratched her chin, pretending to consider his words for a minute. Then she dropped the act and glared straight at him. "A bath, for one! You smell like something that rolled in feces and then died. Second of all, those teeth of yours need a thorough cleaning to rid them of the stench of rotting dino flesh. Third," she began, putting an elbow-length rubber glove on her hand.

Bulma pinched her nose and strutted right up to Vegeta. He looked at her surprised until she unexpectedly slapped the raw animal meat out of his hand. "Wouldn't you like some _real_ food?" she finished in a nasal voice.

Vegeta jolted in surprise briefly and looked at Bulma with a perturbed face. He glanced back at the dinosaur. "This food is not… _real_?" he inquired, confused.

"No, it's not real!" Bulma snapped. "Now, come on. You've wasted enough of my time as it is." Using her gloved hand, she grabbed his wrist and began marching back to the clearing. The Saiyan found himself dawdling along, though he was still very confused about her intentions. When they arrived at the clearing, Bulma clicked a capsule and threw it down on the sparse grass. It turned into a hovercycle and she got on, signaling him to mount the seat behind her.

"I can fly!" Vegeta snapped. He crossed his arms, refusing to ride with her.

"Fine! Just keep up," Bulma retorted, launching the vehicle up into the sky. The clearing was so narrow that she almost failed to avoid the tree canopy. Her thigh brushed past some leaves and branches. Fortunately, she was wearing long leggings. Moments later she found herself gliding above the forest. She looked back to ensure that Vegeta was following her, but he was nowhere to be found. "Hurry up, trollface!" she called back.

"Who you calling trollface, you blue-haired bimbo?" came a voice from beside her. She yelped, and then looked at Vegeta who was hovering three feet away.

"Oh, there you are. Come on," Bulma said, ignoring his comeback. She sped westward and he followed.

Hardly five minutes had passed before he was already complaining. "How freaking long is this going to take? Where is this Capsule Corp anyway? I'm hungry."

"You just ate!"

"Saiyan," he quickly retorted.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Right. Capsule Corp is a few hours away, so hold your freaking horses. I promise you a meal fit for a king when we get there, but not until after you've had a bath!" she pointed out.

Vegeta licked his lips. "Well, you better be sure this meal does not fall short of my expectations or you will have a very displeased killer on your hands," he retorted.

Bulma gulped, and snapped out her cellphone to call the house chef. She gave him very clear instructions on what and how much to prepare, and when it was expected to be on the table. The man panicked. "How can I possibly prepare so much in so little time?" he cried.

"You can order delivery, but only from gourmet places. It has to be a feast fit for a king," she warned him.

"Gotcha," replied the chef. They hung up. Next, she called Yamcha to let him know she was running late. When he did not seem pleased and wanted an explanation, Bulma pulled a weak excuse out of her ass and hung up, pretending the line had gone dead by turning off her phone.

Despite her promise, Vegeta bitched and moaned the entire trip. She tried to distract him with the lush scenery, but he did not care for passing landscapes. By the time they arrived at Capsule Corp, it was already dark and Bulma was tearing her hair out. While she had told Yamcha that she would meet him at the club, she was annoyed to find him waiting on the lawn as they touched down.

The minute Yamcha's eyes met Vegeta's, the human warrior began to power up. "Bulma, what's the meaning of this?" He rounded on Vegeta. "What are _you_ doing here?" he asked in a threatening tone, getting into a fight pose.

Vegeta simply pointed at Bulma. "She promised me food," he said, strutting right up to Yamcha. He glanced the human male up and down, unimpressed, and then walked around him and into the compound.

A man in a suit greeted him as he entered, obviously trying to suppress the urge to gawk at the Saiyan's disheveled appearance. "Are you Master Vegeta?" he inquired, gulping slightly. Vegeta merely nodded. "Your bath is this way," the man replied, turning to go down the hall. "The feast will be ready shortly."

Vegeta said nothing more as he turned an ear over his shoulder, hearing the sound of an argument emanating from the back yard. He shrugged it off and kept following the servant.

…

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going? Now you have a monster in your house. He could blow the place up. Do you think your dad is going to be pleased?" Yamcha shouted at her.

Bulma looked at him with a petulant expression. "I know what I'm doing! Why can't you mind your own business?"

"You want to fuck him, don't you? That's why you brought him back here. You stupid slut!" Yamcha snapped, rounding on her.

She backed away, stumbling until she fell on her rear. "N-no! That's not true at all. I have a good reason for bringing him here!" she exclaimed, holding her hands up to protect herself.

He grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her to her feet. "And what, pray tell, might that be?"

Bulma's eyes widened. Yamcha had occasionally insulted her when he was angry, but he had never physically threatened her before. She suddenly regretted sending Vegeta inside. "I… I was worried about Earth. Goku isn't here." She gulped. "Y-you know that old saying, 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'? I wanted to keep Vegeta close, so I can spy on him and find out if he's planning anything. That's all!" She shakily grabbed his hand. "Please, Yamcha," she said, bringing his hand to her heart. "I might need your protection if he decides to go nuts!"

The look of anger fell from Yamcha's face and he drew back. "Well… I hope you have a solid plan then, Bulma," he said. "I don't know if you've noticed, but that guy is stronger than me. I might be able to get you to safety, but what about everyone else who lives at Capsule Corp?"

Bulma's eyes popped open. "I do! I do have a plan!" she lied. "Um. I've been working on a new invention that could incapacitate him with the push of a button. We just need to keep him content until it's ready… That's why I brought him here. To have the servants wait on him hand and foot to keep him calm and passive."

Yamcha looked at her puzzled, and then suddenly smiled. He laughed, causing her to laugh as well in relief. "I don't know why I ever underestimate you. Now I feel silly. I know it's getting late, but how about that date now?" he inquired, throwing his arm around her shoulders and holding her close.

Bulma gritted her teeth. After the physical threat he had imposed on her, the last thing she wanted to do was go on a date with him. So she thought up a lie and she thought it up quick. "No! There's no time to celebrate. I need you to train. In fact, I'd like you go to Kami's Lookout right away and get started! Please, the fate of the world might depend on you, Yamcha. I'm counting on you. If something goes wrong, you'll need to be in tiptop shape!" she spouted.

He looked surprised. "K-Kami's Lookout," he said, perturbed. "Should I get all the guys?"

"I'm not sure… We need to keep this quiet so Vegeta doesn't find out. Can Krillin hold his tongue? As far as I've heard, he's been in training anyway for the next World Tournament. I don't think you need to worry about him. And as far as Gohan goes, I don't think the fate of the entire universe would convince Chi Chi to let him out of homework," Bulma said, frowning. "If you take anyone, don't tell them what this is about. At least, not yet. Maybe you can train with Piccolo."

Yamcha nodded and turned to fly to Kami's Lookout. But he looked back at her over his shoulder. "Bulma?"

"Yes?"

"I expect a _big_ reward for this once we've rid the Earth of Vegeta," Yamcha said, winking at her. Then he was gone like a rocket.

Bulma breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then suddenly she started dancing around. "Oh yeah, Bulma! You are a genius! I love being able to talk myself out of trouble. Hm, I wish there was more opportunity to practice." She shrugged and headed inside.

The house butler Londrice was standing in the hall with a towel neatly draped over his arm. "Mistress Bulma," he said, giving her a nod.

Bulma smiled. "Hi, Lon. Where's Vegeta?"

"The bathroom. He was more docile than you led me to expect over the phone," he replied.

"Don't be surprised if it doesn't last."

Londrice hesitated, and then nodded.

…

Ten minutes later, Bulma was helping prepare the table when Vegeta stomped soaking wet into the dining room in the nude. Fortunately his bits and pieces were concealed behind the back of a fancy velvet chair. _"Who stole my uniform?"_ he angrily demanded, glancing around at Bulma, Londrice, Mrs. Briefs, and the chef accusingly.

The chef looked to Mrs. Briefs, Mrs. Briefs looked to Bulma, and Bulma looked to Londrice. A sweat drop appeared on Londrice's forehead. "I—I—I was merely having them cleaned for you, sir. Though the garments were rather tattered. Perhaps you should shop for a new wardrobe? I can lend you something from my ow… then again," he began, observing his own tall stick-thin figure as compared to the Saiyan's short and stocky one.

Londrice turned worriedly to Bulma. _"I don't think I have anything that will fit him,"_ he whispered.

"I can hear you," Vegeta chimed, arms crossed over his chest in annoyance as he glared at the butler.

Bulma stepped in front, her face flushed as she looked slightly to the side. "S-sorry, Vegeta. It's my fault. I forgot about it," she said, thinking fast. She looked over to Mrs. Briefs. "Mom, does Dad have anything that'll fit him?"

Mrs. Briefs came out of a trance and shook her head to clear her thoughts. "I'll check, dear." She scurried out of the room. Everyone waited where they stood in awkward silence until Mrs. Briefs reappeared four minutes later. Of course, standing in the room with a naked hot alien felt like an eternity for Bulma.

Mrs. Briefs presented Vegeta with a pair of jeans and a white collared shirt. "Try these on, sweetie," she chimed cheerfully. The ditzy blonde did not even notice the glare from Vegeta as she went back to placing silverware on the table, humming a tune.

Vegeta rolled his eyes and stuffed his legs into the pants. They were so tight around his muscular thighs, that he almost tore them as he pulled them up. "Mph," he murmured as he struggled with the zipper.

Bulma had gone back to busying herself with the table, avoiding looking at Vegeta as he got dressed on the far side of the room. "Something wrong, Vegeta?"

"I can hardly move in this thing."

Bulma glanced over at him and saw the problem. The jeans were too small. "I think I need to take you shopping," she said. Her eyes lit up. "I love shopping!"

Vegeta's eyes widened in horror. "You mean in public?" he replied.

"Yup!"

"No fucking way! I refuse to go out amongst the human public!" Vegeta demanded, brandishing a fist.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Fine. We'll take your measurements and then we'll order clothes online. Satisfied?"

"Do I have a choice?" Vegeta retorted. He tried to walk across the room with stiff movements, grabbing the collared shirt. It was a lost cause, as the sleeves were far too small. "This is really uncomfortable." He got caught in the garment like a Chinese finger trap and could not get out without tearing the thing off.

"Obviously not. Mom?" Bulma chimed.

"I'm on it, hun!" Mrs. Briefs danced out of the room and returned with a tape measurer, whisking Vegeta off to the living room to measure him for clothes.

…

Until the clothes arrived in the mail, Bulma managed to find Vegeta a sufficiently stretchy pair of sweatpants. It kept him satisfied as he scarfed down the massive meal that the chef and numerous restaurants around West City had prepared.

Once he was nearly done, Bulma saw fit to bring up an important concern. She paused to observe the warrior for a long moment as he finished up the fried rice. He had a very aggressive appearance and overall demeanor. A simple glance from Vegeta could easily strike fear into the hearts of any Capsule Corp employee, even if the Prince was actively trying to behave himself.

Bulma thought for a moment. _How am I going to prevent him from scaring away my employees? _After another hesitation, she managed to think up a possibility. "Alright, Vegeta. While you're living at Capsule Corp, please try to behave yourself. I know it'll be difficult for you. But I won't be able to convince my father to let you stay with us unless you swear not to harm anyone in the compound."

Vegeta glared at her briefly. Bulma frowned, until the Prince followed up with a declaration, "No one will be harmed as long as I am not bothered or harassed in anyway." He wiped his face and stood up, surprised to find himself full and satisfied just as Bulma had promised.

Bulma breathed a sigh of relief, but then something occurred to her. There were dozens of naïve young collegians working at Capsule Corp as interns. Any of them could quite easily make the mistake of crossing paths with Vegeta. A warning to stay away from the spikey-haired man would probably make them curious.

"Oh, Bulma dear! I have excellent news. Your father should be home in a few minutes. The group had unexpected early success with the experiment in East City so everyone's going home early to celebrate!" Mrs. Briefs declared.

Bulma was drinking from a glass of milk as her mother said this, and the white liquid came spewing out of her nostrils seconds later. Suddenly, the front door slammed. Vegeta curled a lip in disgust, but had no time to say anything before Bulma snatched him by the wrist and dragged him out of the compound to the Gravitron in the back yard. "This is for you, Vegeta!" she said frantically, slamming down the button to open the door.

She shoved the discombobulated Saiyan inside. "I'm sure you want to train like Goku did in intense gravity, so here you are: your very own Gravitron. Let me show you how it works!"

She detailed all the controls to the silent warrior, and then turned back to him grinning nervously. "There's even a bed and bathroom downstairs, so you won't need to come back inside the house… tonight. Lots of food in the fridge, and you can order delivery from the phone." She jotted something on a sticky note and placed it by the phone. "That's my number if you need anything or have a sudden urge to destroy something or someone. See you tomorrow!"

Bulma put the Gravitron on quiet mode before she left and went back into the compound. To her great relief, her father had gone straight to bed and did not even see the remains of the Saiyan-sized feast in the dining room. Mrs. Briefs and the servants were cleaning up. She called her mother over when they were done. "Mom, I was hoping you could keep Vegeta a secret from Dad. I'd like to break the news to him myself," she pled.

Mrs. Briefs did not understand, but smiled and agreed anyway. Finally, Bulma was able to relax and get to bed. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


End file.
